The Phoenix Mars Lander was a NASA mission that launched to the Red Planet on August 4, 2007, aboard the Delta II 7925 vehicle. It consisted of a robotic station that was to conduct scientific experiments on Mars, and study surface chemistry, weather patterns, atmospheric conditions, and the landscape too. Originally scheduled to operate for 125 sols (Martian days), and conclude in August 2008, the spacecraft managed to endure in the frozen wastelands where it was sent until November 2, when the Mission Control lost all contact with it.

Now, in a set of images that brings the defunct spacecraft to mind again, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft has recently imaged the Phoenix landing site, revealing the probe itself. The robot is covered in carbon dioxide frost, which is something experts refer to as dry ice. Over the last year, it has become an integrated part of the desolate landscape that it was sent to explore. “We decided to try imaging the site despite the low light levels,” Ingrid Spitale says, quoted by Space.

She is an expert at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, and also a member of the science team managing the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard the MRO. The new photos were snapped on July 30 and August 22, 2009, in some of the first instances in this Martian year when the Sun began to shine over the frozen northern regions. One of the main reasons why Phoenix lost all connection to Mission Control, and then “died out” was the fact that it could not receive sufficient sunlight to convert to electricity via its solar panels.

The new images were compared with other MRO snapshots, taken in June 2008. The goal was to determine exactly what features had changed on the defunct explorer, experts say. The HiRISE team had to struggle with poor lighting conditions, as well as with the ominous haze that covered this particular region of Mars during this time of year. The August 22 image shows Phoenix mostly covered in frost. This is absolutely normal, because more carbon dioxide is emitted during the transition from winter to spring in the northern regions.